Bailard Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Bailard Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,162 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 548 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $16,485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of KLA by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 253 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its stake in shares of KLA by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 246 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $155,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 755 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of KLA by 1.1% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,433 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,110,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Up 1.4 %

KLA stock opened at $708.84 on Friday. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $609.40 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. The company has a market capitalization of $94.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.81, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $716.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $714.86.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. Equities research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on KLAC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their target price on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $831.68.

KLA Profile

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of process control, process-enabling, and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related electronics industries worldwide. It operates through three segments: Semiconductor Process Control; Specialty Semiconductor Process; and PCB and Component Inspection.